Galway nursing home asks for help after virus outbreak

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The extent to which Covid-19 can change the dynamics in a workplace or residential setting is clearly evidenced by the way the virus took hold of the Nightingale nursing home.

The 31-bed facility outside the town of Ahascragh in Co Galway is the site of a major outbreak, with the vast majority of residents and staff infected.

Problems began to emerge over the weekend, when the HSE was informed that a resident, who had been admitted to the hospital, tested positive for coronavirus.

That prompted sampling from all staff and residents on Monday.

By the following night, the scale of the challenge facing everyone involved was evident, with 25 of the 27 residents identified with Covid-19.

One of the residents has since died. Two others have been admitted to hospital after their conditions deteriorated.

A total of 17 employees were also infected with seven of the eight nursing staff and ten of the 11 care assistants confirmed as cases.

While some residents and staff are currently asymptomatic, adherence to self-isolation protocols means that the number of people available to work at home has been drastically reduced.

This morning, only the clinical nurse manager and a care assistant were able to attend the service.

Staff at the home say they have asked the HSE for help, but the response has not reflected the magnitude of the gap in service as a result of the infections.

Tonight, the HSE said there was “stable staffing” for the next three days.

But with 17 staff members isolated until at least the following week, there are concerns about how care will be provided at Nightingale through the end of October.

Relatives of some of those living in the home today spoke of how they held the facility in high regard. You have no previous outbreaks of Covid-19.

Strict control measures have been in place since the onset of the pandemic, with restrictions on visits and diligent cleanup protocols.

Páraic Mac Donnchadha, whose 92-year-old mother is one of the residents, told RTÉ News that “you couldn’t even lift a pen” in the building for the past seven months, such was the level of caution that was being applied.

Like many others, he expressed surprise at the pace and rate of infection. He said he was concerned for his mother’s well-being, but also aware of the effect the outbreak would have on staff.

Céiteach Mac Stiofán of Ahascragh said that local people had been stopped in their tracks because of the scale of the problems at home.

He said the thoughts and prayers of those living in the small East Galway community were with residents and staff.

Earlier, broadcaster Mac Dara Mac Donncha, whose mother is a resident at Nightingale Nursing Home, said the home had no choice but to go public with its problems.

In an interview on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, he said that since then the house had been inundated with offers of help from people as far away as Kerry and Donegal.

They were prepared to come and work voluntarily there, in what he said was a wonderful display of community spirit.

Health services executive chief operating officer Anne O’Connor said HSE would help staff the facility over the weekend.

She told RTÉ’s Six One story that the HSE is “challenged” in relation to agency staff and has found that many healthcare workers do not want to go to a place with an outbreak.

Ms. O’Connor said that what is happening in nursing homes is a symptom of increasing community transmission.

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Dr. Martin Daly asked HSE to continue supporting the Nightingale Nursing Home for the next 14 days.

It was a tweet from Ballygar’s GP earlier today that seemed to bring the issue into the public domain.

“I was very upset at how upset the nursing manager at the nursing home was about this, and the fact that they had had little support from the HSE even though they had sought it out,” he told RTÉ’s Drivetime.

Dr Daly added: “It took media intervention to raise this issue. Now a commitment has been made that more staff will be sent to the nursing home.”

State Minister for Mental Health and the Elderly Mary Butler, speaking on the same program, said that the Covid-19 cases at the Nightingale nursing home were seeded two weeks ago.

She said the virus is widespread in the community.

Nursing Homes Ireland CEO Tadhg Daly told Drivetime: “We must redouble our efforts to put the sector on a stable footing as we enter a challenging winter.”

He said the level of community transmission of Covid-19 is “again having a disproportionate effect” on the nursing home sector.

Mr Daly called on HSE to “desist from hiring private sector staff” as he warned that staffing remains the biggest challenge in the safe management of nursing homes.

He spoke with the Taoiseach two weeks ago and informed him that members are finding it increasingly difficult to retain staff due to the recruitment of tracers and swabs.

Daly said that the reduction in the number of clusters in nursing homes during the summer months showed how the level of community transmission can affect residents and staff in these settings.

“It is a stark reminder of the need for all of us to adhere to public health guidelines.”

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Earlier today, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said that some comments made in the Dáil about the Galway nursing home outbreak were “objectively incorrect” and “spread fear and anxiety very wrongly in the community.”

He said he couldn’t go into details about the circumstances of any individual nursing home, but that staff have been deployed there.

“The HSE is doing everything it can to protect nursing homes. The kinds of comments made here this morning are factually incorrect and spread fear and anxiety very wrongly in the community.”

Speaking on RTÉ’s Liveline, Nightingale Nursing Home Director Patricia MacGabhann said she tested positive for Covid-19.

“I want to go there and fix everything, but I can’t.”

“We are trying to keep our residents alive … we really feel abandoned,” he said of the HSE’s response.

She said the HSE had dispatched a nurse and a caregiver overnight, which “took the pressure off.” They told him not to “panic” and to “let him have it.”

However, Ms. MacGabhann said that when the morning shift started today, there was “a nurse and a caregiver” taking care of all the residents.

“It’s uncivilized … we just want our seniors to stay safe and the bottom line is for them to stay alive.”

In a statement, HSE said it was currently supporting a nursing home in East Galway.

“The HSE is supporting the nursing home and is working to recruit staff. Additional supports include staffing from Roscommon Hospital, Community Healthcare West, and Saolta Hospital Group.”



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